Vivement Noël !

I'll admit several of the CCB movies have grated my last nerve, I swear some years they churn them out like butter! But this one was different, I actually liked it. Once I realized there were continuous references to the Wizard of Oz, it was a game to ferret them out. I would actually watch it again, because I think I missed some of the nuggets in the beginning of the film! Cute, funny. A Christmas movie experience like Where's Waldo trying to find all the Ozian Threads!

I enjoyed the Wizard of Oz twist; there are only so many incognito princes roaming NYC (although, Hallmark has me convinced there's one on every street corner), so I'm delighted when a new angle is given to boy meets girl.

The cast was engaging, even the minor supporting roles, and the family interactions were warm and believable. The storyline was a bit muddled, and Darcy's reaction to William's reveal was odd. I realize there has to be conflict in a Hallmark movie, but I wish the writers would dig a little deeper than the standard "overheard something incorrectly," "saw something out of context," or "lied to me" weary tropes.

One of the biggest misses was not showcasing Kansas City at Christmas. For years, my family and I have made the trek to KC to see the beautiful Plaza, Crown Center, and other holiday displays. The Plaza is magical at Christmas, and I'd hoped to see it featured on screen. Nevertheless, the movie was a pleasurable one I'm sure I'll rewatch in order to catch all the Wizard of Oz references I missed the first time.

There sure are a lot of mean reviews for this movie. Sounds like some are trying to knock the ubiquitous Candace off of her Hallmark throne. I am not a huge Candace fan, but she's harmless and she has never looked lovelier than in this tribute to The Wizard of Oz. I thought it was very cleverly done with the names, the characters, and the situations. There wasn't much of a plot, but at least it wasn't a stale rehash of the same old Hallmark set-pieces. I watched it to the end with not fast-forwarding, and that's worth at least a 6 or a 7. I'm not sure why she got so mad at "Glen Goodman" (Glenda the Good witch,Ha Ha) at the end, but that's just standard procedure to set up the happy ending.

Wauw :) these 2 have lots of chemistry. And that's what makes all these movies more than watchable. The chemistry and if there's something more to the story. And the acting was more than decent. I thought CCB was a great match with her fellow pet doctor from fuller house but this tv match was even better :) Sometimes it's even too bad they already have a spouse :)

6/10 - Wizard-of-Oz-tinged Christmas flick is better than you might expect